The UK Supreme Court has begun hearing whether the government’s proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group is legal. In February the High Court ruled that the designation was unlawful. The government appealed and won, and the Supreme Court will now have the final say. More than 4000 people have been arrested for supporting the group since it was proscribed.
The author says they declined a friend’s invitation to Macklemore’s Free Palestine concert at Wembley Arena last Friday because they feared arrest and accusations of antisemitism. They warn that a government victory could lead to more people, including many pensioners, being arrested while peacefully protesting, and say barristers and teachers are under pressure for objecting to the killing of people in Gaza who had nothing to do with the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in September that he felt a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community, calling it a stain on the conscience of the world and of this country too. The government then announced sanctions on goods from the occupied West Bank. The author says little has been done since to stop Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.
The column also describes the documentary Naza, made by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Anonymised Israel Defence Forces soldiers talk about how “insanely fun” it is to use high-tech methods to kill targets, including children.
The author points to this week’s US midterms. Abdul El-Sayed and Adam Hamawy, both of Egyptian heritage, entered the Senate, and Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Palestinian Rashida Tlaib were re-elected. All are described as vocal critics of Israel’s military actions and its influence in the United States. Hamawy went with other US doctors in 2024 to provide medical care to wounded Palestinians. More than half of Americans, 56 per cent, now believe US military aid to Israel should be decreased, which researchers call the coolest feelings towards Israel on record. The column says Trump announced on Tuesday that the US will end its military aid to Israel.
A YouGov poll for Medical Aid for Palestinians found that 62 per cent of the British public oppose Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza and the West Bank, and 54 per cent support the UK government ending all arms exports to Israel. The author tells Mr Burnham that the Palestinian issue matters profoundly to countless Britons and treats the High Court judgment on Palestine Action as a test of protest rights in a liberal democracy.